About
Captain Ed is a father and grandfather living in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota, a native Californian who moved to the North Star State because of the weather. He lives with his wife Marcia, also known as the First Mate, their two dogs, and frequently watch their granddaughter Kayla, whom Captain Ed calls The Little Admiral.
Read More
The Crows Nest
The Thinking Blogger
Congrats to Fausta, who won a Thinking Blogger award. She thanks me for my friendship, but the truth is that Fausta makes it easy to be her friend. She's always positive and energetic, and she epitomizes the notion of a thinking blogger. Make sure to put her on your must-read list!
Ensign Calls For Return Of MoveOn Money
NRSC chair Senator John Ensign calls for Democrats to return all campaign funds donated by MoveOn, after their despicable New York Times ad today accusing David Petraeus of treason. "If Senate Democrats are serious about moving our country forward, they will denounce this outrageous ad and return the campaign funds MoveOn.org has lavished on them as well as the donations made through MoveOn.org -- the choice is theirs." Ensign's right, but I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for the refund ...
Support The Al-Dura Petition
Roger Simon at Pajamas Media is circulating a petition to demand accountability for the discredited al-Dura report from France's Channel 2. This is, as Roger calls it, the "Father of all Fauxtography," and C-2 has never acknowledged its fault in airing the supposed murder of a Palestinian child. He wants C-2 to show all of the unedited footage of the incident in order to show that C-2 faked the murder. If they're resisting the demand, I'd say they have something to hide ....
There Goes The Undefeated Season
Notre Dame managed to get its first loss out of the way as soon as possible -- and as badly as possible. Georgia Tech came to South Bend and stomped the Irish, 33-3, in the worst home opener loss in school history. The offense fumbled twice and allowed seven sacks on Evan Sharpley, who must have longed to have Brady Quinn back on the field instead. If Charlie Weis doesn't turn this debacle around fast, he may want to start asking Ty Willingham for some career counseling ....
Would Early Primaries Allow More Donations?
Jim Geraghty at The Campaign Spot believes that candidates will benefit if primaries and caucuses get pushed into 2007. A loophole in campaign finance regulation appears to allow an extra $2,300 per donor for candidates if those elections are held this year. Be sure to check out Jim's analysis, and the surprising candidate that may benefit the most.
When Tom Met Jeralyn
One of the interesting aspects of politics is finding out that opponents are people, too. Jeralyn Merritt of TalkLeft met Rep. Tom Tancredo backstage at NBC's studios, and found him more likable than she had anticipated. Perhaps it was their mutual interest in Dog, The Bounty Hunter ...
Joe Lieberman A Right-Wing Nut?
That's what CAIR says, according to Joe Kaufman. He has a link to a CAIR official's blog post that calls Lieberman, along with John Bolton, former CIA director James Woolsey, and the Heritage Foundation's Peter Brookes as "extremists". Affad Shaikh also calls Dick Cheney a "fat bastard of a liar," apparently not meant as a pop-culture reference to the Austin Powers movies. (via Let Freedom Ring)
Broadband Homelessness
The Japanese have made homelessness more efficient, and more Net-friendly, too. Their Internet cafés have become homeless shelters for the struggling manual-labor sector. The problem has grown into such a problem that government intervention will shortly become a political priority.
Found My Law Firm
Power Line links twice to this story regarding an attorney at Faegre & Benson who refused to become a victim and helped capture a very dangerous man. Keith Radtke is a partner in the firm as is Power Line's John Hinderaker. Radtke is listed in satisfactory condition after getting shot in the back, but that didn't keep him from locking up his attacker in a wrestling grip until police could arrive. I don't know about you, but that's the kind of man I'd want as my counsel ....
Don't Click That YouTube E-mail
The latest in spam seems to be redirections from YouTube links in e-mail to IP addresses without domain names. They attempt to entice people by making it seem that they have been inadvertently YouTubed. I'm sure most people can see through this scam, but just in case, you've been warned ....
Rick Moran Escapes The Floods
Rick Moran has kept us up to date on his travails along the Algonquin River. Yesterday, the police showed up to get him evacuated before the river flooded his home -- but today, Rick finds that a minor miracle has taken place, and that his house survives ... at least for now. Keep Rick in your prayers, and keep checking in at Right Wing Nut House for updates.
Rule 1: Drag The Corpse On Over First
If I've learned anything in four years of blogging, don't try to be out in front of the death rumors, especially with the villains of the world. Saddam died a hundred deaths before we caught him alive in his spider hole, and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi almost as many before his demise last year. Osama may or may not be alive, but everyone's avoided speculating on his fate for a while now. Maybe Val at Babalu Blog will get luckier with his "Castro Is Dead" story. We all hope so. I'll wait for the announcement ....
Hobbs Choice
Volunteer Voters is holding its annual "Best of Nashville" on-line polls, and one of the categories is for the best political writer. Our friend Bill Hobbs, now posting at Newsbusters, and he'd like his on-line fans to cast their votes. Drop by and put one in for Bill if you get a chance!
Murtha Getting Backlogged On Apologies
Gary Gross of Let Freedom Ring sees another case collapsing on the Haditha charges. He's called for Murtha to apologize earlier, and adds another reason to the tally.
No Such Thing As 'Moderate' Islam?
Turkish PM Tayyip Erdogan told a television interviewer that he finds the label "moderate Islam" offensive. Shrink Wrapped has a lot more on this, but at least in the same interview Erdogan acknowledged that "radical Islam" exists, and that it's been a catastrophe. Be sure to read the whole post.
Comments (31)
Posted by Sue | September 12, 2007 3:58 PM
My condolences to their respective families. If only the Left with their crazy cousins the "tinfoil hatted leftist loons" like Olbermann, Pelosi, Reid, Gore, Dean, Edwards, DailyKos, DU, Mydd, Huffpo, Soros to name just a miniscule number of the nuts could grasp the point of your post. They are cowards compared to the soldiers who spoke about their point of view and the two of them that died for this country. They should be revered, not the idiots listed above and their comrades.
Posted by John Wilson | September 12, 2007 4:04 PM
If a young person is serving in the military, they are more than entitled to their opinions, within the bounds of the military code. We may not agree, but that doesnt take away my respect and gratitude for their service and now their sacrifice.
Posted by Trump | September 12, 2007 4:15 PM
lets not get too carried away....they died in an accident, not an IED attack
Posted by Del Dolemonte | September 12, 2007 4:22 PM
I seem to remember that 7 OTHER soldiers in Iraq wrote a rebuttal to the original piece. But when they asked the NY Times to print it, Punch refused to do so.
Posted by docjim505 | September 12, 2007 4:23 PM
Ditto John Wilson. Well said.
Trump,
They died in service to their country. Are they less dead because they died in a truck accident rather than an IED attack? Do their families deserve less condolences? Should we be less grateful that they were willing to put aside their personal views to serve in the armed forces and defend the rest of us?
Posted by Frank G | September 12, 2007 5:49 PM
God bless them. I don't agree either, but the fact that they were there serving makes their opinion more deserving of being noticed than my comment. Again, my thanks to them for their service to our nation
Posted by unclesmrgol | September 12, 2007 5:51 PM
What is sad is that the "fog of war" they wrote about extended even to their article. Over on alternet, their words were used as position justification at the same time as they personally were reviled:
Posted by Eric | September 12, 2007 6:20 PM
I am sad for their death. I am hopeful they will be proven wrong -- and I think they would pleased to be wrong.
Posted by Teresa | September 12, 2007 6:28 PM
Doc Jim -- Well said. Finally we agree on something.
Del -- Whether you believe the other editorial should have run in the NYT, surely you can conceed that these guys had no control over that and died in theatre for a war that you are pretty gung ho over. I think at the very least you could cut the snark.
Posted by Stephen J. | September 12, 2007 6:51 PM
Captain --
You represent one of the things that has drawn me to the right side of the blogosphere and to conservatism in general: Conservatives these days, if not that much shorter on general vitriol, seem far more willing to put vitriol aside in favour of respect in situations of crisis or loss.
Had these two soldiers and their colleagues written an op-ed affirming the war and then died in a similar accident, I am distressingly suspicious the left side of the blogosphere would have broken out in an orgy of Well-they-got-what-THEY-deserved-ha-ha!ing.
Posted by Pam | September 12, 2007 7:25 PM
I agree, Captain! These men were honorable in every way. I'm so gratful that there are men and women who will go, even when they don't agree, because they gave their word. I pray for their families!
Posted by Christoph | September 12, 2007 7:51 PM
Well put, Ed:
I'm sure you would be the first to agree words do not equal their actions, but those were beautiful words and fitting to the men involved.
Posted by vnjagvet | September 12, 2007 8:04 PM
These young men had the courage of their convictions. Their points of view deserved to be heard. May God bless their families and friends and give them comfort and peace.
I remember many things happening in Vietnam that I thought were blunders on the part of our leadership. Such events are inevitable in a combat zone. In WWII, Bill Mauldin's cartoon soldiers Willie and Joe voiced the unspoken thoughts of many of our troops when they laconically revealed their superiors' foibles and the many discomforts of the battlefield.
Good combat commanders understand this. They know that griping and criticism in the ranks is necessary to release tension and cannot be avoided.
Those who voice their frustrations should not be honored any less for their service and sacrifice than those who suffer silently.
Posted by mcg | September 12, 2007 8:45 PM
My brother-in-law hates Bush with a passion. He'd string up Rumsfeld if he thought he could get away with it. He believes that the Iraqi people are beyond help.
And, he left his wife and 2 daughters behind to serve in Iraq twice.
He can have his opinions, and he can have my admiration too.
Posted by GoDaddy | September 12, 2007 9:33 PM
Regardless whether one agrees or disagrees with the NYT Op-Ed, I think all can agree that these men expressed their opinion in a manner befitting a professional organization and not the organization of high school dropouts as described by Sen. Kerry.
Our military ranks comprise the best of America and it is therefore not surprising that Americans view this same military with the highest levels of esteem.
It is always a sad day whenever we lose one of our own serving there...my prayers are with their families, these were certainly courageous and noble men that all Americans can be proud of.
Posted by filistro | September 12, 2007 9:38 PM
mcg says: "My brother-in-law hates Bush with a passion. He'd string up Rumsfeld if he thought he could get away with it. He believes that the Iraqi people are beyond help. And, he left his wife and 2 daughters behind to serve in Iraq twice. He can have his opinions, and he can have my admiration too."
But if he posted his opinions here at CQ, you all would rip him to shreds. Wouldn't you?
Posted by red | September 12, 2007 10:18 PM
Hand Salute to our lost warriors.
Posted by unclesmrgol | September 12, 2007 10:27 PM
filistro,
Not him. His arguments, his positions. There's a difference.
Posted by Russ | September 12, 2007 10:29 PM
It matters not whether or not we agreed with their stance. They died in service to the nation, and thus deserve our respect.
Trump - I doubt their families are any less bereaved b/c they died in an accident. Dying in a war zone, regardless of cause, is regrettable.
Posted by filistro | September 12, 2007 10:36 PM
uncle, indeed there's a difference.
In my observation, you are one who never resorts to personal attacks unless first attacked yourself... and even then, only sparingly and with dignity (and usually humor as well.)
Would that others could be equally restrained, and remember that we are here to dissect ideas... not the people who hold them.
Posted by Drew | September 12, 2007 10:51 PM
This allows me to say something that I have wanted to get off my chest for a bit:
A lot has been made about the Tillman death that he was killed by "friendly fire". That might be the specific; but, he was a casualty of an engagement with the enemy, and should be honored appropriately - as should all losses from so-called friendly-fire. When in a fire-fight, you're sometimes very fortunate not to get shot by your side (how many police gun-fights result in the cops shooting each other?).
These two men died in the performance of their duties, in a hostile zone; and, are to be honored appropriately.
Now, I can put on my tin-foil hat, tune into the DU/DK frequency, and get the marching orders for tomorrow: Yes, this "accident" was staged by BushHitlerBurton as retribution for these men speaking out. Trutherism prevails!
Posted by Montag | September 12, 2007 11:53 PM
If their Op-Ed piece had been Gung Ho you can bet the Captain would have read it and commented on it while all SEVEN soldiers were still alive. You can take that to the bank even on Sunday.
Posted by Okonkolo | September 12, 2007 11:56 PM
I just wanted to add that by the time their op-ed was published, another one of them had been shot in the head and is slowly recovering.
It was a remarkable op-ed, and I was disappointed that it came and went w/o comment here. You could tell they were pissed, not only by how badly things have turned out, but that they didn't have to be that way.
Posted by Nedra Lee | September 13, 2007 12:04 AM
Drew,
I'm sure that the Army has honored Tillman in appropriate ways since finding out about the "way" he died... by friendly fire. Your post says your very bitter and I can't help that - except if you were to deep six the
BushHitler talk the days may be easier to bear.
Posted by Arthur | September 13, 2007 12:14 AM
I was wondering if the left-side would get all conspiratorial about this tragedy.
> http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/9/12/204436/434
Note at the end of that there's a poll asking
'Do you believe that this was just an "accident"?'
Posted by docjim505 | September 13, 2007 8:47 AM
Somebody help me out: didn't Cap'n Ed post about the op-ed written by those soldiers? I seem to recall commenting on it. Perhaps it was at another site?
Posted by Captain Ed | September 13, 2007 8:55 AM
Doc,
Must have been another site; I didn't post about it at the time.
Posted by Fred Beloit | September 13, 2007 10:20 AM
I commented on their op/ed at Riehl World. I noted that their op/ed read as if it were written by a PhD candidate in English Literature at Yale. I said the first words I ever heard from an Army Sergeant were: "We're gonna have a formation at 1730. Ever' swangin' richard gon be thar" and that things seem to have changed. I also chided them for their arrogance and hubris in deciding that they knew more about international relations than our elected officials and that they should get back to killing the enemy instead of trying to run the country. I called them stupid jerks. I have not changed my opinion one whit, but I'm heartbroken two of them are dead.
Posted by Anna Puna | September 13, 2007 10:56 AM
Well the conspiracy theory has hit dead tree edition with the mother of Mora as the subject.
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,22414359-663,00.html
Sounds like a prisoner transport job that had a horrible accident. More than just two of the writers died in this accident, lets remember that. I will agree with her assertion that we need to know exactly what happened. Though I doubt it will stop the conspiracy minded from inferring all kinds of nefaroius things. The familes of those killed deserve a full accounting of this accident so they can start on closure and going forward.
Posted by docjim505 | September 13, 2007 12:07 PM
Fred Beloit,
Yes, I remember my sergeants' rather (ahem) basic and colorful vocab; Tom Wolfe refers to this as "Army Creole" in The Right Stuff.
That being said, I was a sergeant and I have an MS degree. It isn't uncommon at all for enlisted men and NCO's to have some college under their belts or completed degrees. Thus it doesn't surprise me when an enlisted soldier can write well (even if they DID graduate from a public high school).
Posted by Cathy | September 13, 2007 5:48 PM
Sgt. Omar Mora was my cousin. He loved his family very much. It doesn't matter how he died what matters is that our family will never see him walk through the door again. His wife will not have him home each night and his five year old daughter will never see her dad again. His mother is dealing with the fact that her son has left this world before her. His mother brought him to this country from Equidor when he was two years old to give him a better life and to live the American dream. Omar just received his U.S. citizenship a few weeks ago and now has died for this country that he truly loved. He will be greatly missed by his entire family.
Thank you for the blessings.